KARACHI: KSE-100 Index finally bounces back with a recovery of 984 points to close in green at 37,647 points here on Wednesday after making a high of +1,041 points. The rally, which was long overdue given highly oversold levels, could be attributed to latest comments by Finance Minister Asad Umar where he has raised hope that the government would be able to fund its US$12 billion external financing needs for the year through various sources including IMF. The first tranche by the IMF could possibly be relatively larger to the tune of US$1.5 – 3 billion and should be received by next 2 months amid depleting foreign reserves. Besides, the government is also looking forward to World Bank (WB) & Asian Development Bank (ADB) for another US$5 billion for balance of payment support during FY19. Moreover, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has increased the regulatory duty (RD) by 5 to 10 per cent on the import of 570 luxury items with an aim to curtail imports and strengthen the local industry. Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, Financials, Cements, Fertilizers, and cumulatively swayed the market; where index heavyweight PPL (+2.78%), OGDC (+1.65%), HBL (+1.35%), ENGRO (+3.14%), MCB (+0.29%), POL (+2.02%), UBL (+2.94%), FFC (+2.36%) and HUBC (+2.87%) contributed +312 points to the index where LUCK (+4.76%) closed limit up. Furthermore, HUBCO intends to commence due diligence for the acquisition of 37% stake in Thal Nova Power as per the material information issued by PSX. Traded volumes slightly improved by 7 percent DoD to 194 million shares while value traded inched up to US$45 million. Top stocks by volume were TRG (+5%), LOTCHEM (+7.40%) and BOP (+5.59%). An equity analyst Danish Ladhani expects investors’ sentiment to remain slightly positive in the short term. However, the KSE100 performance shall remain volatile and choppy along with selling pressure from foreign investors. Published in Daily Times, October 18th 2018.